The present disclosure is directed to a process for producing a flexible pouch with a microcapillary dispensing system.
Flexible pouches are gaining market acceptance versus rigid packaging in many applications. In the food, home care, and personal care segments, flexible pouches offer the advantages of lower weight, efficient use and access to contents, good visual appeal, and better overall sustainability compared to rigid packaging.
Utilization of flexible pouches is still limited due to lack of specific functionalities, such as flow control, for example. Thus, flexible pouches are typically used as refill packages where the flexible pouch is opened and its contents poured into a previously used rigid container having a removable nozzle or spout. The nozzle or spout provides the rigid container with precision flow control.
Attempts for flow control in flexible pouches is achieved in stand-up pouches (SUPS) with the addition of a rigid fitment that is assembled to the SUP flexible structure by a heat-sealing process. These rigid fitments typically have a canoe shaped base that is placed between the films that form the SUP, the films are heat-sealed using a specialized heat seal bar that has the unique shape to accommodate the spout base. The heat sealing process is inefficient as it is slow, requiring specialized tooling. The heat sealing process is prone to significant amount of failures (leaks) due to the need for precise alignment of the spout between the films to the heat seal bars. The heat sealing process requires careful quality control, thus the high final cost of the fitment in a SUP makes it prohibitive for some low cost applications.
Rigid containers currently dominate the spray segment. Commonplace are rigid containers with specialized spray nozzles or trigger pump sprays for the application of familiar household products such as disinfectants, glass cleansers, and liquid waxes; personal care items such as creams, lotions, and sunscreen; and even food products such as salad dressings and sauces.
Despite the spray control afforded by such packaging systems, rigid containers are disadvantageous because they are heavy, expensive to produce, and the spray component is typically not recyclable.
The art recognizes the need for a flexible pouch that is capable of delivering its content by way of a spray application and without the need for a rigid spray component. A need further exists for a flexible container that is lightweight, recyclable and requires no rigid components.